1. Cultures of the Mountains and Sea

2. Geography and Greek Life
Mostly mountainous peninsula
The Sea
Same as rivers in ancient civilizations
Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Black Sea
Transportation routes
Skilled sailors
Poor in natural resources

3. The Land The Climate ¾ = rugged mountains
Difficult to unite under 1 gov’t
Led to small independent communities
Land transportation difficult
20% able to be farmed
Not able to support large population
The Climate
Varied climate
Supported an outdoor life

4. Mycenaean Civilization
Indo-Europeans that migrated to Greece
Located on steep, rocky ridge protected by wall 20 ft thick
Warrior like king
Villages and farms

5. Culture and Trade Feasts in great halls Buried with richest treasures
Armies searched for plunder
Farmers, goat-herders, stonesmen, weavers
Minoan influence
Importance of trade
Adapted writing system into the Greek language
Told legend or stories

6. Trojan War Mycenaean kings fought 10 yr war with Troy
Trojans kidnapped Helen (Greek wife of King)
Thought war was fictional
Control of waterway in the Aegean Sea?

7. Decline of Greek Culture
Collapse of Myceanean civilization after Trojan War
Attacks by sea raiders
Dorians move into lands
Far less advanced than Myceanean Greeks
Economy and trade collapsed
No written records

8. Homer Blind story-teller Said to be the most famous story-teller Epics
Poems
Said to be told about heroic deeds
Iliad and Odyssey
Possibly based off of Trojan War
Iliad = Fierce warriors (Greek)
Achilles and Hector of Troy = main characters
Odyssey
Odysseus uses wits and trickery to defeat Trojans

9. Myths Traditional stories about their Gods
Sought to understand the mysteries of nature and power of human passions
Attributed human qualities to their Gods
Lived forever however
Zeus lived with Hera on Mount Olympus
Athena = God of wisdom

10. Warring City-States

11. Rule and Order
City-state or polis was fundamental political unit in ancient Greece
City and surrounding country side
Agora = center of city
Acropolis = fortified business center on top of a hill

12. Political Structure Monarchy Aristocracy
Government ruled by a small group of noble, land owning- families
Sometimes aristocratic rule was disliked, wealthy merchants and artisans take power
Formed Oligarchy -> few powerful people
Looked down on non-Greek foreigners (barbarians)

13. New Army Dorian Age – only rich could afford best weapons and armor
Iron replaces bronze = harder, more common, cheaper
Led to less wealthy people in army
Hoplites = spear and shield
Phalanx = army fighting formation (powerful)

14. Tyrants Seize Power Powerful citizen soldiers
Tyrants take control – very powerful individuals
Very competitive between tyrants
Sparta and Athens are created

15. Sparta and Military Sparta builds military state Conquerors Messenia
Messinians become helots or peasants forced to stay on the land they worked
Gave up half of yearly crop
Revolted
Sparta dedicates itself to creating strong city-state

16. Spartan Gov’t and Society
Two groups governed Sparta
Assembly = free adult males, elected officials
Voted on major issues
Council of Elders
Proposed laws on which assembly voted
Ephors – 5 elected officials who carried out laws
2 Kings ruled over Spartan military
Diverse society

17. Spartan Education Men = military training
Boys left home at age 7 and into barracks
Girls did not receive military
They wrestled and played sports
Everyone believes to put service to Sparta over family
All forms of expression were discouraged
Valued duty, strength, and discipline

18. Democracy and the Golden Age

19. Pericles’s 3 Goals for Athens
Pericles leads Athens during it’s golden age
3 Goals
Strengthen Athenian Democracy
Hold and strengthen the empire
Glorify Athens

20. Stronger Democracy Increased the number of paid public officials
Poorest could serve if elected
More citizens engaged in gov’t than ever
Direct Democracy
Form of gov’t in which citizens rule directly and not through representation

21. Athenian Empire Tried to enlarge the wealth and power of Athens
Built Athens a 200 ship navy
Strongest in Mediterranean
Strengthened safety
Needed overseas trade to gain supplies such as grain

22. Glorifying Athens Beautified Athens
Persuaded the Athenian assembly to vote huge sums of money to buy gold, ivory, and marble
The Parthenon
One of architecture’s noblest works

24. Greek Art Sculpture Statue of Athena in Parthenon
Sculptor Phidias
38 feet tall (gold and ivory)
Aimed to create figures graceful, strong, and perfectly formed
No expression on statues
Wanted to capture normal human motion
Called Classical Art

26. Greek Drama Built 1st theatres in the west
Expression and civic pride and a tribute to the gods
Wealthy citizens produced plays
Tragedy
Serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, and betrayal
Comedy
Slap-stick situations and crude humor
Satires = poked fun at a subject
Showed freedom and openness and freedom of public discussions

27. Spartans vs. Athenians Tensions building for years
Leaders in both Athens and Sparta pressed for war
Both groups believed they could win
Peloponnesian War
War between Sparta and Athens in 431 B.C.
Athens = strongest sea power in Greece
Sparta could not easily be attacked from sea
Sparta attacks Athens
Citizens brought into Athens city walls for protection

28. Sparta Gains the Edge
Plague killed roughly 1/3 of Athens’ population including Pericles
Athenian assembly sent huge fleet of 27,000 soldiers to destroy the polis of one of Spartan’s wealthiest allies
Athenians were destroyed
404 B.C. Athens surrenders

29. Philosophers Lovers of wisdom Socrates Plata Aristotle
Believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
Encouraged Greeks to go further and question themselves and their moral character
Plata
Student of Socrates
Wrote “The Republic”
Set forth vision of a perfectly governed society
All citizens would fall naturally into three groups; famers and artisans, warriors, and the ruling class
Aristotle
Student of Plato
Questioned nature of human belief, thought, and knowledge

30. Alexander

31. Intro Peloponnesian War weakened several Greek city-states
Rapid decline in military and economic power

32. Philip and Macedonia Macedonia -> cold place just North of Greece
People lived in mountain villages
Greeks looked at Macedonians as uncivilized foreigners who had no great philosophers, sculptors, or writers
Philip -> Macedonia king who dreamed of taking control of Greece and Persia

33. Philip’s Army 23 when he became king
Brilliant general and ruthless politician
Peasants turned into well-trained army
16 X 16 phalanxes that paved way for calvary

34. Conquest of Greece
Athenian orator Demosthenes warned Greeks of threat of Philip and his army
Athens and Thebes joined an alliance against Philip
Greeks defeat at battle of Chaeronea
Ended Greek freedom and independence
Philip killed at a wedding
Alexander the Great becomes king of Macedonia

35. Alexander Defeats Persia
20 years old when he became king
Learned science, geography, and literature from Aristotle
Enjoyed Homer’s Iliad and hearing about Achilles heroic deeds in Troy
Thebes tries to rebel
Alexander burns city, kills 6,000 people, ends any thought of rebellion

36. Invasion of Persia Greece secure -> time to invade Persia
Persian messengers try to warn the empire
Two forces met at Granicus River
Alexander makes 1st move and destroys Persian defenses
Darius III -> king of Persia
Raises huge army of 50,000 – 75,000 soldiers
Alexander breaks through defenses and heads straight for Darius

37. Growing Ambitions Darius tries to negotiate peace treaty
Offered Alexander Western 1/3 of empire
Rejected offer and confidently announced plan to conquer entire empire
Marched into Egypt
Named Pharaoh

38. Conquering Persian Empire
Alexander moves into Mesopotamia to meet Darius
Persians assembled 250,000 solider army
Battle at Gaugamela
Persian lines weaken
Darius flees again
Macedonian army now moves into richest provinces
Distributed treasures among the army

39. Alexander’s Other Conquests
More interested in expanding empire instead of governing it
Crossed into Indus valley
Encouraged to turn around by his army
Alexander dies at 33 from fever
Antigonus takes control of empire
Ptolemy becomes pharaoh of Egypt